A big explosion occurred on Tuesday in the Beirut port, according to a security source, which caused dozens of injuries and great damage in various parts of the Lebanese capital.
The cause of the explosion, which shook the capital, is not yet known. A security source said that he had occurred in the Beirut port near the center of the capital, indicating two explosions.
Thick smoke was seen rising from the scene of the explosion.
Security forces blocked all roads leading to the port, and journalists were prevented from approaching. Only ambulances and civil defense were allowed to pass.
The sound of the explosion was heard all over the capital, all the way to areas far from it. People on the Lebanese island of Cyprus, facing Lebanon, also heard the explosion.
The Lebanese National Media Agency reported that a major fire broke out in Amber No. 12 near the wheat silos in the Beirut port, in a warehouse for firecrackers, and strong explosions were heard in the place, which resonated in the capital and suburbs.
A journalist at Agence France-Presse saw dozens of wounded arriving at the Hotel Dieu hospital in Ashrafieh, in east Beirut, including children.
A large number of them were covered in blood from head to toe.
Journalists at Agence France-Presse also saw parked and abandoned cars in the middle of the street near the port, which was severely damaged.
Buildings were badly damaged, and glass was scattered everywhere.
"I felt something like an earthquake, and then the explosion was heard. I felt it was stronger than the 2005 explosion that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri," a woman in the center of the capital told a France Press journalist.